Marine recruiters reach out Pasadena City College gay pride event
Marine Corps recruiters at the San Gabriel Valley Pride event at Pasadena City College on Saturday didn’t care whether the young men who lined up to test their strength were gay or straight.
The Marines just wanted to see some pull-ups done properly: Place hands about shoulder width apart, palms facing away; pull upward until chin is over the bar and then slowly return to the hanging position. Repeat until the feet feel like concrete blocks and the biceps like rubber bands about to snap.
Addison Arce, 23, a slight, sinewy man who ran cross-country at Burbank High School, impressed them with 13 brisk pull-ups. “I’ve always been fond of the military and what they do,” said Arce, who described himself as bisexual. “I’ve thought about joining. Whether it would be the Marines, the Navy or Coast Guard, I’m not sure.” These Marines, he added, “they really know how to put on a show.”
With the official repeal last month of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the Marine Corps, the service that was most opposed to ending the policy, appears to be leading the charge into new recruitment territory.
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-- Martha Groves, Los Angeles Times
Photo: Kenny Clark, 17, struggles to complete the last of many pull-ups as Marine Corps recruiter Staff Sgt. George Garcia looks on at the San Gabriel Valley Pride festival at Pasadena City College. Credit: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times /October 10, 2011.